


Slow It Down

by daydreamingrlty



Category: British Actor RPF, Henry Cavill - Fandom, Henry Cavill RPF
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Comfort, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Insecurity, Jealousy, Shyness, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:14:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29363829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daydreamingrlty/pseuds/daydreamingrlty
Summary: Henry slowly tries to build a relationship with shy reader, although she is totally clueless about his advances, making him work even harder to get her
Relationships: Henry Cavill & Reader, Henry Cavill & You, Henry Cavill/Original Female Character(s), Henry Cavill/Reader, Henry Cavill/You
Comments: 20
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I previously post this story on another account, but I changed my mind. I deleted on there and decided to post here on my main one. Enjoy! 🤍

Losing a huge opportunity again, was out of question. Suffered years of college, spending endless nights depending on coffee to survive, hoping to finally graduate with honors and move out to your dream country. Although you achievied all of this, you don't have what it is most important to mantain yourself, a proper job.

It won't be the first time you do a job interview, in fact this is part of your routine, each time you're rejected, immediality you send your resume somewhere else. Definetly, you capable of doing anything you set your mind to, but you have a bigger problem, your shyness always gets in the way.

Simpler things, that would be normal for many people, make you so anxious that you can't function well, answering to the questions on the interviews, being one of them. Your insecurity making you ponderate too much on the questions, looking blankly for the interviewers as if you had no clue what they talking about, but inside you just searching for the right words, hoping to please them. It is exactly because of this, that you lost every single job until now, your struggle is obvious.

It is so unfair, only if you could show them the real you, only if they gave you a chance. However, all of the time, the companies opt for your competitors, claiming you don't have "effective communication". You don't disagree with them though, how could you choose a communications degree when you can barely say a phrase without worrying about other people opinions on the matter?

You are quieter, but simply love the social media part of communication, this passion is responsible for your choice. Everything that involves technology, interests you, the problem is, that you forgot that you also need to communicate through speech, and on this department you 100% need a improvement.

The sudden desire to change, is the motive that awake your earlier this morning. Failing again, is not a option. Especially not with this amazing oportunity, on an agency that you always dreamed of working for. Naturally a night owl, this is a sacrifice for you. You can barely keep your eyes open. 

Regretting your choice, you realize you should have prioritized your sleep. Awake, you had much more time to think about plenty of things that could go badly.

Decided to not let yourself overthink and ruin your plans to do something decent today, you take a relaxing bath and get dressed, choosing an outfit that could made you look more professional. Also, this is another problem. You're five foot tall, therefore, people don't take you seriously. Relying on professional, "formal" clothes, is something that can help you endure less looks doubting your ability.

Contributing to your failure, you curse yourself as soon as you open your dresser, seeing you barely have anything like this. You're a casual girl, most of your clothes are confortable. Working with the best you have, you choose a long-sleeved red blouse, high waist jeans and to complete the only high heel you had. Since it is an agency managed by younger people, who knows, your style could please them.

Lying to yourself in front of the mirror, you pretend to be satisfied. You complement the look with the only makeup you know how to do, leaving a natural look on your face and loosen your hair free of the bun you had done.

Walking slowly throught the streets, you utilize the extra time you have to observe the new location. You normally hated changes. Yet, moving out on your own, in the end was the best thing you did. Your parents love you very much, but they didn't want to lock you up in a place they knew you weren't happy, you keep in touch with them when you can. You don't have many friends, and the ones you have are no longer closer to you. In the end, you are your best company.

An adorable, tiny mint green coffee shop, catch your eye alongside the road you were, and you decide to stop and make an order.

Receiving your order quickly than you expected, you taste the iced coffee, it's heavenly. It had been long once you had something so good, the atmosphere is pleasant and the owners are very attentive.

Unfortunately, you can't stay. Mentally, you assure to save every aspect of the place so you can come back later, this will be your new spot to hang out, you knew it wouldn't be longer for you to be obssessed with their coffee.

You pay and get out of the establishment, putting your credit card in the bag you carries. Suddenly, a huge body bump into you spilling the coffee all over your blouse. Immediatly, you thank yourself for at least making a good choice this day, if it were a hot coffee, you would have burned yourself making the situation even worse.

"Oh. I'm so sorry, miss!" The man says trying to get closer to wipe your blouse, but he move away after seeing you take a step back.

Despite knowing who he is, you falter, instinctively deviating from his hands. 

"Sorry, shouldn't have tried to touch you without permission. It'll be stained, just want to help you." He says, seeming really apologetic by the incident he caused.

"It's okay." Mesmerized by his blue eyes that in person, reminded you even more of the ocean, the brown tinge in the top of his left eye caused by his heterochromia further enhancing the beauty of it, left you uncapable to say anything else.

"Please, let me pay for a new one." He insists gesturing towards you.

"No, absolutely not. It is not your fault really, I was distracted." You say quietly giving him a reassuring look, getting ready to leave and not panic in front of him.

"At least let me pay you another coffee then, to ease my consciousness. I'm Henry, by the way." He say with a grin, reaching out introducing himself.

"It's fine really, not a big deal. I'm Y/N. I know who you are." _"Damn it, Y/N"_ you think, instantly regreting the last sentence. Ashamed, you shake the hand that was extended towards you. He squeezes yours tightly but at the same time his touch is tender.

"See? If you know me, you can accept my coffee. Pleasure to meet you, Y/N." You sense your cheeks burn and you know you're blushing. _"Pathetic, Y/N"_ The whole time you correct yourself. You don’t want to give a bad impression, however you are so awkward, it's almost an impossible task.

"I'm late for something really important, I'm sorry. Need to go." You say lowering your head avoiding his gaze, that was the reaction you had every time you needed to say something when you're embarassed.

"Tomorrow, then. I'll buy you lunch." He says crossing his arms. "Don't even think of refusing this offer, as you said yourself, you on a rush, no time to discuss. Just give me your number and we'll talk about the details later." He flashed a winning smile knowing that you wouldn't have an answer that could get you out of this. Reluctantly you pass your phone number.

"It's a date!" He screams, after your both go on different paths. Putting a lock of hair behind your ear, you give a bashful smile and waves him goodbye.

Rushing your steps, you desperatly search for a store of any kind that could sell a blouse that would replace yours, hopefully for something similar. As for the promise of lunch, well, one concern at a time.

Besides, Henry Cavill is a busy man, he probably just said that because he felt truly guilt. The odds of him remembering to send at least one text are minimal, not to say nonexistent. Right?

No. As a matter of fact you're wrong. Suddenly, you hear your phone buzzing, it's a text from an unknown number.

"Italian food, pleases you? I know a delightful restaurant, I think you'll enjoy it. Oh, and before I forget it, send me your adress. I'll pick you up." You let all the blouses in your hand fall, along with the hangers that were attached to them.

Looking on the bright side, at least now you have something bigger to worry about, obfuscating all your fears about the job interview.

 _"It can't be real."_ Stagnated, it takes long for you to get out of the trance and answer the text, after thinking a lot about each word you were going to send. Following that, you choose a blouse even better than the one you were wearing, giving the touch of professionalism you needed.

Focusing in send all Henry related thoughts to the back of your brain, ignoring them at least for the period of your interview, you manage to get to the building in time.

Amazingly, you felt confident for the first time in your life. It is not a bad day, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Sleepless, you decide to get out of bed and run some errands, until you see is almost time for Henry to pick you up. He said he would be in your house around 11:30am, you don't want to get late, he probably have other things to do instead of taking a stranger to a restaurant.

You knew better, than fool yourself. As he said, it was to ease his conscience. After lunch, he would surely bring you straight home and you would never see each other again.

It doesn't help you to get less stressed. You choose to wear a loose yellow dress along with beige sandals. After tying your hair in a ponytail you regret it, and untie immediatialy, letting your hair down again. Normally, you don't mind putting too much effort into your appearance, you don't like to get attention. If people don't notice you, they won't talk to you. That's the rule that freed you from many unwanted encounters. You complement it with a red lipstick, that was the most boldness you put onto a look.

Seeing the time, your heart starts to race. Henry will arrive shortly. _"Breath, Y/N."_ You have a talk with yourself, whilst you use breathing techinics to calm your anxiety. The doorbell rings taking you out of your meditation and bringing you back to reality. He is here.

You take your purse checking if all your necessary belongings are in it. Opening the door slowly, you prepare yourself for the day ahead of you.

"Hi, there!" Henry is holding a huge bouquet of flowers. _"Is this a date, date?"_ You think to yourself trying not to panic. _"Surely he's just being a gentleman."_

"I didn't know what kind of flowers you like, so I bought a bunch of them, hope I got at least one right." He says smiling, handing it to you.

"They're lovely! Thank you." You smell the flowers and go inside looking for a vase to put them. When you come back he is waiting on your living room.

"You look stunning." He says staring at you from top to bottom analyzing every single detail.

"I-I...Hm, thanks." That's all you can mumble. You're not used to receiving compliments. You wanted to return it but gave up, there is no reason why. The man knows he is handsome. 

"Shall we go?" He extends his arm towards you, expecting you to intertwine yours. Reluctantly, you do what he suggests.

He only releases your arm, when he advances towards the car opening the door for you. In reality, he was even more chivalrous than you thought.

As soon as you both get in, he starts to drive, immediately initiating a conversation with you.

"So, Y/N...I'm dying to get to know you better, taking into account that the only thing I know about you, is that you have a childish taste, once you ordered iced coffee instead of the good old black coffee." Henry grinned teasing you not taking his eyes from the road.

"That's utterly offensive." You respond pretending to be insulted by his words.

"Am I wrong, though? No need to be ashamed of yourself. That's nothing wrong with it, if you prefer, we can cancel the reservation and go to a candy store."

You don't reply, instead you start laughing uncontrollably, Henry joining you. He accomplished what he wanted, he knew first dates were incredible painful, specially for shy people, so he did his best to light the air with some jokes before he start with another subjects that could potentialy leave you uncomfortable.

"I mean, I can't deny it. Sweeter things usually wins over bitter ones when I'm choosing something to eat, never thought about this before."

"I'll bare this in mind when I'll cook you something." He says winking briefly at you. _"Is he flirting?"_ You flushed.

The rest of the drive goes smoothly, he is easy to talk to. Sure, there was awkward moments, but in the bigger picture, you felt like you could open up with him without being judged.

Surprisingly, as you arrived at the restaurant, you noticed it wasn't a super posh one. That soothes you, one less concern. You litterally had no idea how you would act, if was one of the extravagant ones were people dressed as they were on a fancy party 24/7.

Henry opens the door to you again, and he guides you towards the back entrance. Afterwards he explain it to you.

"I had a motive to choose the back door entrance and a more private table, hope you don't mind it. Don't want to leave you tense in case someone approach us, you know? Papparazzi always spoil most occasions to me." He explains it, you can hear something different on his tone, almost as if it pains him to talk about this.

"It must be tough for you. Oh, and I'm okay with it, I prefer quiet places anyway." Reassuring him, you place your hand on top of his, and regret it soon after. You were overstepping your limits.

"It is. Thank you, Y/N." Realizing that you were going to move away, he makes a fast movement and stops you, holding your hand gently for a few seconds.

He only stops when the waiter arrives with the menu, making you two turn your attention to what you were going to order.

"Have you decided it?" Henry asks you, after choosing that he was going to have the same as usual.

"Honestly, no. What do you suggest?" It turns out you were wrong, the appearance of this place hide it amazingly how expensive it is. In addition to the dishes you never heard of, you are extremely shocked by the prices. Your desire was not to choose anything at all, this is worth much more than a simple coffee he spilled on you. Some dishes could pay off your monthly bills.

"She'll have the same as me." He tells the waiter that was by the table.

"Do you drink? I ordered wine for us." He says snapping you out of your trance.

"Normally, I don't." You say with a faint smile.

"Well, good for us that this is not a normal occasion."

He has a marvelous taste, that you can't discuss. He ordered some refined pasta, that you thanked God for not remembering the names on the menu. Since it's his favorite dish, possibly could be the most expensive one.

Being persistent, even with your short answers, Henry continues to pull all sorts of subjects to keep the conversation going. Certainly, the image you're giving is not good, at most you're sounding like an ungrateful bitch, but you can't help it.

All you want is to leave already, no matter how pleasant he is. It is enough that he brought you to a place of this level, that you could only dream to frequent. 

After the embarrassment of having to hear the value of the final bill, you just wanted to disappear.

Fortunately, at this point the drink is starting to affect you leaving you a little tipsy, at least you wouldn't have to go the rest of the way with him sober. Thus, avoiding revealing how guilty you feel for making him pay so much for a meal.

Balancing on him, you manage to get into the car without falling. You're very weak when it comes to drinks, that's the real reason you avoid it at all costs.

"Lesson learned, I'm never letting you drink again." He says playful, helping you sit up, adjusting your seat belt.

Apprehensive, Henry tries in every way to get you back on your previous mood, the way you were on the beginning of the date. He knows something is bothering you but he cannot identify what.

 _"It was something I did? Something I said? Did I crossed the line when I touched her earlier?"_ You slept halfway through the drive, leaving him with plenty of time for rethink everything. Finally, he understood. It was the restaurant. 

_"Brilliant, Henry!"_ He cursed himself, obviously he wants to take you to the very best places, but not a single moment he thought about how it would truly make you feel. Noted, he won't make this mistake twice. Next time, he'll take you to a place with less absurd prices, no matter how difficult it is for him.

He wishes to pamper you even more than he did with his previous girlfriends, but apparently you aren't like most women.

It's going to be challenging, however It'll be worth it. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge chapter! Hope you guys bear with me.  
> I'm trying to add more depth into my characters, so their story is not so empty. If it is too boring, let me know in the comments and I'll shorten the details on the next one.

One week has past since yours and Henry's date fiasco. You didn't heard of him again. You don't blame him, in his place, you wouldn't contact yourself either. At least you had other things to worry about, you were called for a second interview for the job you desperately desire.

It is a pretty big deal, not only is the first time someone called you back about a job, but also it is on the company you dream of working in it. 

Fortunately, your "future boss" secretary informed you that he want a casual meeting, leaving you unconcerned about your outfit choice.

You opt for a black overall, tying your hair on a pony tail, and using your only high heel available. That's another thing you have to give attention to, now that you'll probably be working for a respected company, you have to update your wardrobe. It's not because the boss wants a casual meeting, that means he always acts like this, you have to pass an image according to the rest of employees for the reputable company.

For makeup, you apply only a natural effect foundation and a lip tint, and get your keys, leaving and going to the Uber you called earlier. You usually love to walk, however you don't want to take a chance of happening other accidents this time. A coffee staining your blouse was easy to fix, but with the luck you have, it is possible to be hit by a bus on the way. You can't risk it anymore, you need this job.

As soon as you lock the door you remember that you left your phone on the kitchen island, you consider going back to get it but you don't see the need. You don’t need the GPS today, and you can get back on foot, no need to spend more with another Uber. Furthermore, delay a second longer is out of the question, punctuality is key for securing a new job.

Luckily, the drive goes smoothly and the driver is very polite, he ended up distracting you, hearing his stories about his 9-year-old daughter warmed your heart, you could see how much he loves her. It made you miss your parents, it wasn't as easy as you thought it would be, to stay away from those who took care of you your whole life.

He parks in front of a huge building and you know you’ve reached your destination. After paying, you get out of the car and approach the entrance. "Barrington Communications" it was written on a fancy huge sign. Breathing deeply, you get ready for whatever is going to happen as soon as you enter. At best, this sign will be the one you'll see frequently starting today.

After taking the elevator and going through so many floors that you lost count, you reach the last one and the first thing you see is a huge door leading to an office that is certainly of the boss, it is all so big and intimidating.

"I'm here for a meeting with Mr. Barrington." You inform the secretary who is sitting in the entrance hall.

"Ms. Y/L/N? He is already expecting you." You freeze with her affirmation, you were sure that you arrived earlier. This hit you more than you expected, you thought you would have more time to prepare.

Walking slowly, you knock on the door and hear a voice calling you in, at this moment you reach the handle and open it nervously.

Entering, you get surprised by the size of the place, you knew that the building was vast but this office was practically the size of your house. Sitting at the table in front of you, there is a man not much older than you, his blonde hair and amber eyes combined with his baby face, made him look for a moment even younger than you are. He looks back at you with a calm expression.

"Ms. Y/L/N" He gets up and comes towards you extending his hand in your direction for you to shake it. "I'm Asher Barrington, get yourself comfortable." He pulls the chair for you to sit. Apparently, England is full of gentlemen, you're not used to this kind of treatment.

"Coffee?" He says pointing out to the espresso machine.

"Yes, Mr. Barrington. If it's not too much trouble" Without giving a second thought you accept, at least drinking coffee you would have something to distract you when the questions start.

"Call me Asher." It is hard for you to believe that the owner from a place as established as this could act so casually, there's a catch for sure. Getting a cup of coffee for him too, he hands you yours and sits down.

"So Y/N, I heard that you impressed our manager in your interview. I became so curious that I wanted to meet you in person. Why do you think you fit for this job? I want to know if you can add value to my company, if it's worth hiring you." Serious, he asks you the tough questions directly, without small talk, like most people do. 

"Honestly, I-I don't know, Mr. Barrington." You tutter.

"Asher, please." He corrects you instantly.

"A-Asher, sorry." You were already failing and this process has just started, his steady voice also didn’t help you, you felt as if you are cornered.

"The truth is, I'm just a fresh graduate hoping to succeed, having a place at your company is a part of my dream. Never thought I would be able to actually get a interview here, especially not with you, the head of everything. It doesn't help my case, I know that. Many people surely say the same as me, but I beg you Asher, let me show you how much I can add here, in practice, in the daily life. I'm not good at expressing myself and talking about what I am or not capable of doing, let me show you." A sudden courage makes you spit out all the words at once, in the end you don't even know what you said anymore. It must have been good, once a wide smile opens on Asher's face.

"Incredible, now I know why he was so impressed by you. Passion Y/N, this is what I see, all over your face. I can sense that you're a person who is eager to achieve your goals, I come from a privileged family, I don't know the feeling, but I admire it. I want you to be part of my team, what do you say?" 

"What do I say? Obviously, it is a honor!" This was too easy, but you decide not to overthink. The universe is finally on your side, you should enjoy it.

"Awesome! Kate, my secretary, is going to send you an email with everything you need to know about your position, which is very flexible, by the way, I think you will like it. You'll have the option of working with various customers from wherever you are. Tomorrow, I will personally give you a tour of the place and introduce you to the staff." Runing a hand gently over your arm, Asher continue explaining to you that you need to go to HR first to do the mandatory procedures, and then just sign your contract, and you'll be officially an employee for Barrington Communications.

As soon as you leave the HR room you notice that a heavy rain started. _"Shit."_ You were so focused on what they were telling you, that you didn't notice it. Going back home walking was out of the question.

Returning to the top floor, you ask Kate to lend you her phone for a second so you can call an Uber, but a ringing voice interrupts you.

"No need to call an Uber, I can drive you home. Where do you live?" Asher says casually, as he locks the office door, he is holding his suitcase and suit, looks like he is leaving to go somewhere.

"Absolutely not, don't want to bother you." First day and asking the boss for a personal favor is not part of your plan, it is not the image you want to convey.

"Nonsense, I'm leaving. Lunch time, perhaps you can even join me." Too friendly, is it because he is young? By no means you expected this chill behavior from the person who runs this place.

"Fine, is a yes for the ride. I won't be joining you for lunch though. I have countless errands to run this afternoon, need to leave everything ready now that I won't be home as much." You lie, you intend to spend the rest of the afternoon celebrating your success. The real reason for refusing the invitation, is the fact that you don’t want your co-workers to think you’re trying anything more with the boss to grow in the company, you’ve seen this story before.

"Let's go then." He doesn't like your reply, but tries to hide his disappointment.

On the way to the parking lot you get so many crooked looks that you even unbalance for a moment, it was exactly this kind of energy you aim to avoid. Harmless, just walking by his side people looked at you like this. You just want to do an honest job, that's all. From now on, you planning to keep your distance from him as much as possible.

Outgoing, he doesn't stop talking on the drive back. It wasn't bad in a way, at least it wasn't you having to start a conversation about the weather to ease the tension, as usual. You ended up telling a little bit about your life before England and found out a lot about him too. Your intuition was right, he is young. Recently inherited the company after the death of his father, who he hold a grudge against, for ruining his plans of fully enjoying his life, having that much responsability so early. Typical rich problems that you can't relate, but you pretend to compreehand.

Getting out of the car, he accompanies you and before you can thank him, you hear a gravelly voice calling your name.

"Y/N?" Henry is sitting on the porch step outside your house, this time holding a bouquet exclusively of white roses that he recently found to be your favorite, a questioning look on your direction, shiffting to a deadly look towards the man behind you.

"Henry? I wasn't expecting you." Surprised, you stay silent for a moment. Henry is indeed here, you thought he had already given up on you.

"Clearly." Getting up, he responds in a hurt tone. Firstly, you don't understand, until you remember that Asher is with you. Henry must be thinking that you were on a date.

"Henry, that's Asher. Asher, that's Henry." Awkwardly, you introduce the two men, trying to ease the tension in the air. It doesn't work, instead, it gets worse. They continue to face each other, without breaking the aggressive staring exchange.

"Y/N, see you tomorrow." Asher pull you closer for a hug, and lightly rub your back saying goodbye, you don't see, but he glances Henry while doing so, he finishes and walks out towards his car.

Facing back to your house, you see a fuming Henry, arms folding across his chest.

"I was out of country on a photoshoot for a magazine, there was no phone sign at the location and I was unable to contact you. Thought I'll come here to surprise you, I'm the surprised one. Now I know why you didn't answer any of my calls." The way he speaks breaks you heart, he looks genuinely sad.

"What calls? What are you talking about?" Confused, you try to figure out which calls he’s talking about, you didn’t detach from your phone this week, waiting to hear the job answer and, unconsciously, deep down, wanting to get at least a text from Henry.

"Several calls Y/N, I called you all morning. All calls went to voicemail, so I decided to come in person. Guess I can't blame you, we just had one date, I can't demand anything from you." You feel stupid, you left your phone this morning thinking it wouldn't be a problem. 

"Henry...I wasn't ignoring you. I forgot my phone and avoiding to be late, I decided to leave without it." You say quickly trying to explain the misunderstanding.

"So, you weren't ignoring me because of him?" The way he says "him" as if in disgust, plants a doubt in your mind. _"He is jealous?"_ You brush off the thought immediatily, there is no way Henry is jealous, especially not of you, as he said himself you only had one date.

"No, he is my boss. He just gave me a drive, nothing else. By the way, I just got the job." Excitedly, you give him the news. You don't share much of your life, but you felt the need to talk about this achievement, at least. Henry knew practically nothing about you, at your date, you didn't exchange a lot of information about each other.

"Y/N, that's fucking amazing!" Suddenly, Henry embraces you, and spun you around kissing your cheek as he land you back on the ground. You blush instantly, you wasn't expecting his strong hands on your waist lifting you up, neither that tender kiss that follow it.

Henry is ecstatic for you, of course he is. Deep down though, selfishly, he is happy for himself. He didn't lose you. For a moment, he thought that man had won you over. This misunderstanding only made him wish to have you more than before. If just the thought of you being with someone else drove him mad, imagine if this perspective becomes reality? 

His problems are not over, on the contrary, he fear he is not wrong. That man is definitely interested in you, it's just a matter of time for him to show his claws. Henry won't let that happen, not even over his dead body.

Gradually, he just need to show you how determined he is to have you in his life. This will be a difficult task, he doesn't want to rush things so as not to scare you away, at the same time, he fears that if he demonstrate little affection, his competitor could win this. He doesn't know the cards this Asher can play against him.

It's all about you in the end, the most important thing for him is to respect your time. 

Hopefully, you'll choose him.


	4. Chapter 4

Both of you stay still for a moment, but Henry breaks the silence with a question.

"Can I come in?" Decided, he points to your front door.

"Yes, sure!" Not hiding your excitement, you take your keys out of your purse and go to the door, opening it promptly.

It was unusual for you, someone demonstrating interest again, especially a man like Henry. Normally, you went on a date, and you never saw that person again. Being an introvert, drives several people away, who often think you're playing games, whereas in fact you're afraid of ruining the relationship before they even start.

"For you." He hands you the bouquet he has been holding for so long, and you can't stop grinning, small gestures like this, mean so much to you.

"You remembered." You say referring to the fact that he hasn't forgotten your favorite rose.

"I wouldn't forget something so important." Foolish as it may seem, you need to hold tears of joy that threaten to form in your eyes. Your favorite rose is important to him. To him, who has a gigantic list of things to worry about on the daily bases. This is surreal.

"Y/N, I would love to go on another date with you." Henry was apprehensive in seeming too direct, but he don't have time to lose.

"Let's go grab a coffee." Suddenly, your mouth betrays you, and you say what you should have left only in your mind. Now, he'll think you're desperate. 

_"Y/N, you're so stupid."_ Correcting yourself mentally in Henry's presence is inevitable, all the time you try to police yourself to make a good impression.

"Right now? I wasn't expecting this, but yes, let's go." Henry is relieved, he wish to know you better, and since you chose a place to go yourself, it would give you freedom to loosen up in an environment you already know.

Asher don't need to know you were lying about what you were going to do on the afternoon, your life outside the office doesn't concern him. Henry is available and you decide to make the first move for once, getting this job made you more confident, and you wanted to go out and celebrate, nothing better than do it with him.

In the car, you explain to that you want to go to the same coffee shop where you met each other.

"It's really chill, I think you'll like it. It's a relatively private place, I don't think there will be any paparazzi to bother you. There they have pastries, cakes, pies, any sweet stuff that you can think about. The owners are so kind too!" He finds adorable to see you acting like this, enthusiastic about the things you're passionate. Is this version of Y/N that he craves to learn more about.

On the way you don't realize, but Henry prepares questions in his head, as if it were a script. He don't want to spoil anything with pointless interrogation.

Arriving at the coffee shop, you greet the staff and lead Henry to a table in the back of the place, you know that privacy matters to him, and in this case to you too. You're more relaxed when you feel that people's eyes aren't on you, and being alongside one of the most famous actors in the world doesn't help you to go unnoticed.

This time, you feel a relief as soon as you pick up the menu. Being faced with realistic prices and knowing that you can afford the order leaves you on a good mood.

"So, only thing I know is that you got a new job. But what do you do exactly?" Henry's strategy was to start with something that he knew slightly, until he could move on to more personal questions.

"I'm graduated in communications, so my field of action is very broad. I'm more interested in the media area, Asher offered me a position as media planner, so I get to do what I love, after all." In fact, you really hit the jackpot. Your salary is terrific beyond other benefits, but you don't think its necessary to comment. You're facing a man who receives millions, your salary for him is the same as a few dollars.

"I'm familiar with this occupation, on set they usually hire several media planners to take care of the dissemination of projects to the press. Good to know you're working with something you love, it doesn't get any better than that, it's a blessing." He disguises his anger, after hearing the mention of your boss name.

"As for the company, could you tell me a little more about it?" Hiding his real intentions, he asks about the company, when in reality he wants to hear about the man who accompanied you home. To be able to compete with the enemy, he needed to study him.

"Barrington Communications? I don't know much about the history itself, nothing more than what Asher told me. I've always dreamed of working there. Is a renowned and respected company in the market, but what most caught my eye is the transformation that the place had in recent years, they managed to reinvent themselves after the death of the founder, Asher's dad. Innovate without losing the essence. The freedom they give the team is also something that no other place can compare." Blatantly, you speak all the qualities you can remember, but when you see that Henry is staring blankly into space, you brutally stop.

"Don't want to bore you. I'm sorry." You dodge your look from him, and focus on your order that just arrived. You're a little disappointed in yourself, you said so much that it must have made him uncomfortable, but he didn't have the courage to interrupt you.

Henry manages to get out of his trance and understands the stupidity he committed. He expressed little or no interest at all in your conversation, due to him thinking about the manner you speak about your boss. He hates how his name sounds in your mouth. It's almost like you admire him greatly, like he is an inspiration to you.

"Y/N, I'm deeply sorry. I have so much work related things on my mind that I ended up distracting myself." _"Damn it, Henry."_ Immediatly, he reprimand himself. It was the first excuse that crossed his mind, but the impression that remains is that work is more important than the time he is spending with you.

"Oh, so do you have a new role? I know you probably can't comment on it, but it must be thrilling to work on a brand new character." Shifting the subject, you try to hide your frustration. Your intuition warned you that you shouldn't have impulsively asked him out, maybe he had something to do in the afternoon and you messed up his plans.

"No, not exactly. Geralt is the main one I'm working, my focus is The Witcher's new season." It is the opposite of what he planned. He hoped to talk about you, instead, he missed the opportunity from the moment he didn't gave you enough attention.

As he envisioned, none of the following topics were about you, on the contrary, you close yourself furthermore, talking as little as possible.

_"At least this time I'm sober."_ You try to lessen the fiasco that was the date, again you're the one to blame.

Meanwhile, Henry takes out his rage on the steering wheel, clasping his hands tightly around it.

Your phone rings and you're thankful for the deliverance, you no longer knew what to discuss with Henry, you already talked about his whole career. You see in the caller ID that is your mom, answering after one ring.

"Hi, mom." It seems she always guesses when she need to call you, besides the awkward moment she's helping you escape, you were missing hearing her voice.

Henry finds it disrespectful to listen to others personal conversation, but he had nowhere to go. In a way, this call can also be a chance for him to reconnect with you. If he get some information from the call, he can bring up something regarding you again.

"I miss you too. I don't know when I'll be able to travel to see you, my schedule has completely changed. I got that job that I told you about." This. The information he needed. Apparently, you have to travel to visit your parents, it gives him an opening to ask more.

As soon as you end the call, asking your mom to send your dad a hug too when he gets home, you hear Henry's voice.

"You parents live in another city?" Casually he asks, looking away from the street at you briefly, and cautiously turning his attention to the traffic again.

"Another country, actually. I just moved to England." Sometimes you forget about it, so much has happened in those first months that it's like you living here for a long time.

"Y/N, that's huge. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to stay away from them. I know that my work makes me travel a lot, but I visit my family often. In your case, the distance is greater." Now he had one more reason to care for you, you're completely alone in this huge place that is probably quite different from what you used to.

"It can be tough, but little by little I'm getting used to this new routine. Despite having them, I've always been very lonely in other areas of my life." Referring to the fact of having few close friends and never having a significant other, you reflect for a while.

"This changes now. I'll be your personal guide. Wherever place you're curious to visit, I can take you. I'll introduce you to our city at least. If we organize our schedule properly, I can take you to other areas of England too if you're interested." Realizing that talking about it left you sad, he quickly tried to cheer you up.

"That's very thoughtful of you, no need to worry though. Now I have the job to concentrate on, I don't think I'll have time for myself." You give a simpathetic look towards him, he is surely just being polite. Last thing he need is you similar to a tourist surrounding him everyday.

As soon as he parks the car in front of your house, you take off your seat belt and say goodbye to him, rushing to get out of the car. Meticulously, he pulls your arm preventing you from getting out.

"Y/N, we'll see each other again, right?" His attempts to approach you were in vain, he is afraid you'll avoid him this day forward.

"Henry, do you seriously want to insist on us, after the disastrous dates we had?" Wanting to save him from more suffering, you say the truth wide open.

"Honestly, I haven't been interested in someone like this in a while. It's worth it, we just need to try harder." Henry compreehends, that if he wants this to work out, he have to make his intentions clear. 

"Will you be patient with me?" You let your thoughts slip out loud. 

"Patient? What do you mean?" It brought him even more despair, hearing you beg this. Perhaps, he is pushing you.

"Henry, if you're being completly honest, I think is fair for me to do it also." Slowly, you think about the best way to open up. Henry doesn't look away from you, and for a second, you think he's going to place his hand above yours, but he freezes.

"I'm not good at dating. I...I have zero experience in the field. I'm sure you prefer more determined women, if you don't want to waste your time with me, I totally get it. Yet, if you decide to move further with this, please guide me." You have nothing to lose. At worst it would just be one more person that you pushed aside, you would move on as usual. It hurts, but you learned to live with this type of situation.

"I'm fully committed to this matter, I think we just need to be real with each other, Y/N. Don't worry, I'll respect you. If something bother you, tell me and I'll stop it immediatly." Leaning in your direction, he approaches by caressing your face. Even though he has huge hands compared to yours, his touch is delicate, almost as if he is afraid of hurting you.

His lips are so close to touch yours, that you can sense his warm breath on your bare skin. Spoiling your almost kiss, a loud horn scares you both, causing you to move away. Catching the breath you lost just in the perspective of imagining your lips touching, you continue the topic. 

The pair of you agreed, that from now on, you'll continue to meet, without putting the "date" label, to decrease the pressure.

Probably, he is going to get tired of you sonner than you think. Might as well enjoy while you can. You know that most man in the spotlight, don't settle for a girlfirend for too long, imagine a fling like you.

Henry lets you believe in this narrative, he doesn't want to intimidate you. You already made a breakthrough today, it was nice to see you trusting him to share what ails you.

In contrast, he reflect about you on the long run, he desire someone to spend the rest of his life with, he may be mistaken but he perceives you as this person.

He never had an issue conquering a woman. However, you don't see him for his looks or fame, you see him as a human being, as flawed as any other.

No lasting relationship, started in a hurry, that's the beauty of you.

He'll wait as long as necessary, if his prize is to wake up by your side everlastingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After I finished writing this chapter, I realized that the events are kind of monotonous, but slow burn is supposed to feel like this, right? lol  
> I promise, in the next one, they'll start developing :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally had to split this chapter in two, or else it would be insanely huge. Sorry guys, I can't help it. I'm loving to write this one. Anyways, hope you enjoy! 💙

2:45 am. Henry's brain is too desultory to function properly in this instant. 

It is hard for him to fall asleep, his brain working 24/7 thinking about his next move or how he should act on an upcoming scene he has to shoot. Therefore, he values every second that he is able to disconnect and rest.

He is fuming, how dare someone disturb him in the middle of the night? So disrespectful. His curls fell in front of his eyes, restraining him to look at his phone screen. Irritated, he brush off them, aiming to get a full view of the caller ID.

It is an unknown number. In disbelief, he ponder the audacity of this person. He doesn't have the contact saved, it means isn't someone his familiar with. The phone stops ringing and he curses himself, he took too long to answer.

Normally, he would just block the contact and get back to sleep. Yet, he had a urge to pick up. It wasn't the first call from it, however is the first one that awake him. Checking, he sees 15 missed calls.

It couldn't be someone trying to prank him. He is always cautious, he only share his private number with people he trust. Apart from his agent, and a few close friends on set, the only people that has it is his family. The remainder has his professional contact.

Decided, he jumps out of the bed. Without detaching from his phone, he goes down the long steps from the spiral staircase leading to the first floor, heading to the kitchen and grabing a glass of water. It could be something important, he is not missing the call this time.

Without having time to finish drinking it, he hears his phone's deafening sound. Is ringing again. Promptly, he answers but doesn't say a thing, he wants the person to speak first.

"H-Hey, Hen!" Straightaway, he lets his guard down. This voice he could recognize anywhere. It's you. But something is odd, he notice that your tone is louder than usual.

"Y/N? Is everything alright?" He is not surprised that you're calling him, in the past two months you're doing this often, even through facetime. What worries him, is the fact that you're acting weird and calling from a different number, not to mention the fact that is now almost 3:00am.

"Absolutely! I'm splendid, everything is splendid! Why do you ask...?" Your change of behavior in the first part of your sentence in which you shout, to the last one where you whisper, only reinforces what he had already considered. You're drunk.

"Y/N...Did you had something to drink?" He recalled your first date. The alcohool left you drowsy, this time seems quite the opposite, you're more lively than ever. For an instant he find it amusing, you truly sound blissful. However, his conscience bring out his protective side, if you went overboard and drank more than usual, you could be in danger. As far as he knows, your barely drink, as you mentioned, only on holidays or special occasions.

"Maybe..." Sounding like a child who's being scolded by her parents and is afraid of punishment, your respond smoothly.

Opening his mouth slightly, Henry attempt to respond back at you, but suddenly you interrupt him.

"Y-Your house...Can I?" You're struggling to form a sentence, he's been through this. Sometimes the alcohol makes you forget even the simplest words. "Stay...I mean, sleep...No! Ugh! Shit! Wait a second." Patiently, he stays silent waiting for you to orgazine your thoughts.

"Hen, you're home...right? C-Can you come pick me up? Can I stay with you tonight?" Of all the things that happened so far, this is the one he was least prepared for.

Slowly, the pair of you are trying to build a relationship from scratch. It's not easy. Although he is commited to win you over, sometimes he felt more like your friend than potentially a boyfriend. 

You reject all his advances, and fail to notice his romantic attempts. It's frustrating. He is respecting your wishes, being patient as you claim to be inexperienced in the field, but going out with you all this time without even kissing you, took away some of his motivation, it is torture. By this point, he was lead to believe that your relationship was doomed to failure.

Inviting yourself to his house is something unexpected. He is thrilled with the perspective, he thought about it numerous times, but he feared to do it. For most couples, getting to know each other’s house is a big deal, it may mean that the relationship is evolving.

In your case, you're wasted. Doesn’t mean that you really want to know the place he lives, he’s considering refusing it, it’s not something you asked for in the daily bases, you migh regret it later. Still, he need to get you out of wherever you are and bring you to a safe place, and nothing better than on his side, something you suggested yourself.

"Tell me your location." He chose to maintain your closer to him, for your safety.

"Yay! You're coming for me, I knew it! I told you Asher." A shiver runs down Henry's spine. You're not alone, but you're poorly accompanied. What were you doing with him at this hour? If that bastard got you drunk on purpose to force himself on you...He will kill him. 

"Y/N, you location!" Sternly, he repeats himself, his grip onto the phone almost breaking it in half just with the thought of you potentially in danger and completely unaware of it.

"Company, the one that I work for. Can you find the adress online?" Knowing that you’re probably incapable to say the right directions, he doesn’t require anything else and search, as you suggested.

"Y/N, listen to me carefully. I'm coming, just wait for me." Hurriedly, he finishes the call and puts on the first clothes he find. He puts a black sweatpant over his boxers combined with a green hoodie, it's cold outside.

At the door he puts on his sneakers checking his appareance in the hall mirror. He is dreadful, his hair is a mess, to complement the look, there is eye bags starting to form below his eyes, due to his poor sleep schedule. But that is not something he should be concerned about. Not right now. You need him.

Henry never drove so fast, it is almost as if the car slipped on the road without any effort, instinctively he parked the vehicle when he arrived.

On a padded couch in the lounge area of the building, he came across a scene that made his blood heat up. _"How dare him?"_

Asher is stroking your hair fondly, using the thumb on his free hand to caress your face while you're lying on his lap, his suit covering your obviously quivering body, that he pressed closer against his frame. He is definitely loving it, based on his triumphant smirk. 

Not even him had this type of intimacy, and you're going out together. That son of a bitch overstepped all limits.

As if sensing his presence there, Asher hesitates and exchange looks with Henry. Purposefully, knowing that the gesture would drive him to the edge, he removes a lock of hair from your face cupping your cheek softly, whispering in your ear something that he wasn't able to understand.

Whatever he said, announced his arrival. Tripping, you fight your shaky legs and run straight to him, removing your high heels aiming to run without impediment.

"Hello, handsome. I missed you so so much. Did you missed me?" You stood on your tiptoe, and wrapped your arms around his waist, fitting your face into his neck, craving to smell his scent. The alcohol on your breath is strong, even for him.

He returns the hug but doesn't reply. Careful not to hurt you, he undoes your embrace and goes towards Asher, while you lean on him so you don't get off balance. 

"What the hell did you do to her?" He glared at him demanding an immediate answer.

"She did this to herself, I merely stayed here to take care of her." His unaffected tone pissed Henry even more, it made it seem like he was wrong for being angry while this guy is acting normally. "It was a company reunion, she ended up losing control, drinking more than she should."

"Reunion? In the middle of the night?" This story doesn't match the Y/N he knows. Always attentive, you avoid things that leave you out of your mind, if you drank it would certainly be just the enough amount to have fun, not to end the party barely able to walk.

"I don't know how things work in your "hollywood" environment, but regular people tend to start the parties earlier and stay there until they think it's fit to leave." He is being sardonic, this prick is now insulting his career.

"By the way, I didn't want to call you under any circumstances, she insisted on it. For me, she could sleep in my penthouse without any problem, it would be even easier." Elated, he realizes that he managed to attack where he wanted to and angered him on a personal level.

Furtively, he releases you carefully leaning you on the front desk, he steps in Asher direction intimidating him. The two men stare at each other similar to the first day they met. Asher knew you were interested in each other, and yet disrespectfully he continued with his advances. Worst of all, is that you don't trust Henry on this, from your point of view you share a professional relationship, that's all. You don't see that he treats you differently from other employees.

You're too innocent. If you're oblivious to his flirting, knowing his intentions, imagine this other man that you perceive as your boss, nothing else?

"Guys? What's going on?" Suddenly, you regain some of your strenght and walk clumsy towards them, halfway there you stumble, falling and hitting your head on the marble floor. The unexpected noise makes the men stop they pointless staring contest, turning to look what caused the sound.

"Y/N?" In unison, they shout your name seeing you lying immobile on the floor. Leaving a drunk person inattentive, is never a great idea.

Striving, you manage to sit sensing a liquid dripping down your face. You run your fingers through your temple, which appears to be the source of it. It's your own blood.

You don't have time to reflect on how, but the men swiftly appeared at your side in readiness to assist you.

"I got you, can you stand up?" Henry frown his eyebrow questioning concerned, meanwhile Asher goes to the nearest office and search for something to stanch your wound.

Nodding, you lean on him for help, but you get dizzy and fall onto the floor again. This time though, he holds you in time preventing you from hitting your head once more.

"We should take her to a hospital." Asher positions the cloth on your head and presses trying to stop the bleeding.

"I agree." They decide to put their differences aside for a moment, focusing on your well being.

"Please, don't. It's just a tiny cut. See?" You take off the cloth, they give you a disapproving look, but you prove your point, the bleeding is already decreasing.

"Please, Henry. I'm tired, just wanna go home with you." Pouting, you don't need to do much more to convince him to do your bidding. Selfishly, he loved that you said it especially in front of his competitor, showing that you needed him more than anything. Defeated, Asher takes his suit back, which Henry happily hands over. 

No matter what signs of intimacy this man was trying to exhibit. They don't exist. He is the one you trust to call anytime and ask to take care of you. It inflates his ego, any doubts he had about you two were eliminated.

Going to his house is a giant leap. It remains to be seen whether this will improve your connection or hinder something that is already so fragile.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obviously, I don't know anything about his place, so I took the liberty to invent the details myself. I think it turned out okay. Enjoy! ❤

On the way, he get extremely nervous. Hopefully, you won't be overwhelmed. Henry doesn't brag about the things he achieved now that he has a great status on his carrer. For him is just a house, his home.

Most people that visit him think otherwise. Everyone get shocked by the size of the place and automatically is afraid to touch or break something of value, it always makes him upset.

As soon as he makes a final turn you notice that he is slowing down the car. You arrived. You don't know if it's your drunkiness, maybe you're having a hallucination, but this place is huge. The entrance gates are intimidating, and the yard it's surreal, it has so much space that you wouldn't even know how to enjoy it fully if you're lived here.

Henry parks in the garage and helps you out of the car, even though you said that you're able to walk by yourself, he insists, forcing you to use his body as a support afraid of you falling once more.

He unlocks the door, and you feel breathless.

"Wow, Henry this place is massive!" The house don't have a defined entrance hall, as soon as you enter you see the grandeur of the place, the living room itself is bigger than your whole entire apartment, and the first floor seems to be larger than the house you grew up.

Not to mention that it also has a second floor. The humongous open plan staircase, highlights a peak of the other floor, which has so many doors leading to different areas that made you curious to know what is behind each one of them.

You don't know if it is Henry who decorated the place, but the style is modern and rustic at the same time, it is a vision that pleases your eyes. You see tones of orange pop out alongisde neutral colors, various items made of wood too, it seems to be theme going on here.

The kitchen as well is open plan, the walls are entirely covered by windows, that allow you to admire the garden while cooking or eating. It is heavenly, must be even more pretty in the daylight.

Your daydreaming is interrupted by a figure that comes running towards you, throwing you on the floor. Luckily, this time you just fall on your butt.

Something cold touches your face, you open your eyes with difficulty and come across a voluminous fluffy dog sniffing you. It's Kal, Henry's loyal companion, that you've heard so much of.

"Kal, back off!" Henry tries to get him of off you, the dog insistently tries to identify who is the intruder in his house.

"Hey, pup!" Hearing your voice and realizing that you're addressing him, he tilts his head to the side inquiring. You caress his fur, he is docile and adore the affection you're giving out.

"Y/N, he hurted you?" I'll prepare you a bath, so you can rest." Although Henry is loving to see the bonding between the two of you, he know that you had a heavy night and need to rest.

"Chill, Hen. I'm fine." By the way you speak he knows that you're drowsy.

"I'll be right back." He is apprehensive about leaving you alone, but he believes that Kal's company will soothe you if you feel frightened by the house.

He has other bathrooms, but he choose to prepare your bath in his, which has a bigger and more comfy bathtub.

As soon as he returns to the living room, he sees that you and Kal are no longer in the place you were in.

He decide not to be alarmed by the situation, any exaggerated reaction he might have could give you the wrong image, as if he didn't want you to have the freedom to explore his house.

After searching for a while, he finds you on the balcony analyzing the landscape around the house. Kal is beside you, appearing to be your longtime friend, introducing you to the neighborhood.

"It's ready." You get scared by his voice breaking the silence, and hesitate, turning quickly.

"I'm sorry, I went to play with Kal and he ended up running over here and I followed him. So, so sorry." You don't want to give the impression that you're coveting what he has, on the contrary, you're just admiring something that you never thought of witness in real life.

"Hey, Y/N. It's okay, really. I'm glad you're here." Henry cups your cheeks with his hands and lean closer kissing your temple.

Immediately, you turn red. This is the first time that you have this type of contact. At least it's the first one that makes you feel peculiar, a simple gesture made you feel inexplicably good.

"Hm...Where is it? The bathroom." You get out of the situation swiftly, ignoring the sensation that arose in you as soon as he touched your skin.

"I prepared it in my bathroom, I hope you don't mind. I think the bathtub is better there, no guest should know about it, though." Henry chuckles, but you only think of one thing. You're going to enter his bedroom. For the very first time. You're not prepared to see the most intimate place here.

"I left you a hoodie of mine on the bed, I imagine your dress is unberable at this point. As soon as you're finished, I'll be waiting for you. First door on the right, just knock." He doesn't want to leave you completely alone afraid of you getting lost. So getting closer seems like the wisest thing to do, yet at the same time he doesn't want to invade your privacy and keep you from relaxing.

Speechless, you just nod and enter the humongous bedroom.

Despite the decor that matches the rest of the house, here you can clearly observe his personal touches. You can see the books he is currently reading on the nightstand, family photos scattered everywhere, and piles of papers that you had no idea what they might be, probably scripts, that's your bet. 

It's incredibly cozy, makes you want to stay here forever. The king size bed screams for you, almost leading you to gave up the idea of bathing and jump directly on it to rest. As if all that weren't enough, Henry's scent is all over the room.

His bathroom is no different, just like everything else in the house, is an exaggerated size and you get lost trying to locate yourself. You don't know what the other bathrooms are like, but Henry is right. You never took such a pleasurable bath in your life, you could even sleep in the bathtub, no problem.

You put on the blue hoodie he left for you, and you feel smaller than ever, like a child wearing clothes from the adult session. At least you would be warmed up, no doubts.

"Did you enjoy it?" Henry asks as soon as he sees you entering the room that he told you to come.

"Hm...Yeah, thank you." He is lying casually in bed, this isn't bigger compared to the master bedroom, but for you it remains spacious and is more than enough, if you could, you would spend every night here.

"I'll not keep you awake any longer, you must be exhausted." If you were tired when he picked you up, right now you're certainly worse.

"I lied. I'm not tired, at all. I hate hospitals, just didn't want to go there, so that was the first excuse that I could think of." Henry sees a cheeky smile forming on your mouth.

"You deceived me, that's not fair." He should have suspected, no matter how heavy your fall was, minutes before you were as excited as he had never seen. Change of behavior for someone drunk is normal, but not in such a short period of time.

"I don't regret a bit." Leaning against the door in a untroubled pose, you burst out laughing and he joins you. Henry is ecstatic that you chose to come with him at all costs, and you're grateful to be having the experience of visiting his house while drunk, it gives you more courage to be yourself.

"So...I don't know what you're planning to do, but I wouldn't mind a house tour." Dying of curiosity, you wish to know what's behind each of the doors that you looked at intensely as soon as you arrived. 

Name it, literally anything that you could think of, he managed to fit into this place.

A gym, sauna, gaming room, which according to him is his favorite place to hang out. By this point you already lost count, it is a lot of information.

"Last but not least, library." Surprisingly, exceeding your expectations, he introduce you to the most jaw dropping ambient that you saw until now. 

"I think I'm in love." He giggled closing the door behind you as you enter. He must be thinking it's a joke, but you've never been more serious in your life.

Your passion for reading is one of the things that has kept you alive throughout many tough situations, and being in such a place is the same as having entered a magical portal. You feel immersed, as if you were on another dimention.

Without exception, the walls are covered with bookshelves, your desire is to browse each one, but one in particular draws your attention.

Decisively, you pick up the copy of The Last Wish, starting to leaf through the pages, even though you know the book by heart. You sit on the floor and he accompanies you.

"Didn't know you were a fan." Henry is already joyful to learn that you love reading, it is something he rarely had in common with other people he dated, but seeing you pick up a book from The Witcher series, cheered him up even more.

"Well...I'm not a fan of Netflix's adaptation, didn't want to bring up the subject in front of Geralt himself." Your statement has a little bit of truth. Despite thinking that nothing compares to details in the books, you love the tv show. You're also one of the people who became obsessed with Henry when it came out, but you don’t want to be fangirling in front of him.

"Ouch, that's harsh Y/N!" Pretending to be offended, he crosses his arms in front of his chest, with a disappointed face.

"For an actor, sometimes you're pretty bad at pretending Cavill. Don't you think they butchered some of the characters? Be honest." You're being serious, some characters lost their essence in your point of view and deserved much more.

"No comment, I don't want to break any of the terms on my contract." Henry continue to play along, he loves you normally, but he would like for you to always be like this, for you to speak your mind without overthinking.

"Ugh, I wish I've had the opportunity to read the physical book." He sees that you're thoughtful for a moment but brush off your feeling putting a faintly smile on your face.

"What do you mean?" As you seem to be an avid fan of the books, he is curious why you didn't read in the typical way.

"Well, let's say I read in unofficial sources. That's all you need to know." You felt terrible, but you were so thrilled to read the books and had no way to buy, so you ended up using the current wonderful technology to download on the internet.

"You confessed a felony young lady, what should I do with this new piece of information?" Is a sensitive topic for you, he can see. As an artist, he is an advocate of buying from the rightful author, paying for his hard work, but he know that in the real world not everyone can afford it.

"They were too expensive, don't judge me." Books in general are pricey, but in the place where you lived it could be even more absurd. "I paid the price in the last book anyways, that ending..." Remembering the day you finished the last one, you relive the feeling of emptiness.

"What do you have against the ending?" He knows that the ending is something that still divides opinions among the fans.

"Is too emotional for my liking. I just desired a definitely happy ending, you know? Something that would bring me a sense of triumph after so much struggle." 

"That's the magic of open ending Y/N, it's up to you to interpret the possible ending. It can be whatever you want." 

"I fucking hate that. I don't want to reflect, I want pure happiness." Pouting like a spoiled child, you lean towards him lying on his lap.

"Stay in my room, I'll sleep in the guest bedroom." Now your tiredness is real, he can see the effect of pulling an all nighter starting to make you weak.

"Wait, why? A bed that size and you don’t want to share it. How selfish." You mumble still lying on him.

"I...I guess we can share it then, if you don't mind." Henry prefers his own bed, but he was willing to let you sleep there for the night. He didn't want it to be awkward, so he figured it would be best to stay on another bedroom.

"Y/N?" You stop responding and he realizes that you are already asleep.

Carefully avoiding interrupting your sleep, he takes the book out of your hands and leaves it on the nearest shelf to organize afterwards.

Listening to your low murmurs of complaint, he manages to get you out of the previous position and put you in his arms carrying you to the bed.

He keeps an appropriate distance, so that you have your space. But you roll back into his arms, pulling them in a way that he is snuggling you.

He doesn't deny your approach this time and finally gives you what you've been aiming. He wraps you in his arms. Straightaway, you feel more cushy and decide to use his bicep as a pillow.

 _"I could get used to this."_ Henry leave soft kisses along your neck, getting ready to rest himself, now that he knows you're safe in his arms.

Unintentionally, the pair of you just had your best date yet, if you had planned it wouldn’t have worked out so well. You enjoyed each other’s company so much, having a great impact in your relationship. From now on, everything will be different.

When the effect of the drink wears off, you'll not regret it.

At least, that's what he hopes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It never took me so long to update a story. A lot happened in my life this week and it was hard to focus on writing, but i'm back. Enjoy! ❤

The sunlight hit your eyes as soon as you open them.

The natural lighting took you out of your deep sleep and made you wake up in a state of confusion. _"What the hell?"_ You're used to waking up in your dark room with all the curtains closed to not disturb your rest.

Looking around associating the details of the environment to the feeling of a strong chest pressing against your body, is enough for you to remember exactly where you are and the events that brought you here.

That's why you don't drink. The sensation of being in your body, yet not having total control of your actions, has never pleased you. As far as you can recall, Henry didn’t mind bringing you here, but you're still uncomfortable.

Although he already knows your home, you planned to meet his at another time, when he invited you. You imagine how strange it must've been for him to receive your call along with this request.

A throbbing headache takes you out of your thoughts. You try to get away of Henry's arms, but he doesn't let you go, on the contrary, his grip on you become tighter leaving no chance for you to let go of him.

After many unsuccessful attempts, he finally gives in. Sleepy, his arms let go of you and you manage to get up and go to the bathroom carefully so as not to alarm him.

As if your problems weren't enough, as soon as you use the toilet paper you notice a red spot on it. Your period used to come two days later than expected, but this time it came exactly on the right date. Desperate, you look for your clothes and start to dress quickly. 

It's not ideal, but you can't expect Henry to wake up, especially in these circumstances. You suffer from heavy cramps, if they start here you won't have the strength to leave.

Leaving without any explanation would be inappropriate, so you search for a pen and paper in his office, and write a note thanking him for taking care of you, nothing too long since your time is running out. You leave the note on the bedside table, carefully placing a weight on top of it so it doesn't fly, and descend with rapid steps towards the entrance door. 

Luckily, even in your condition last night, you were lucid enough to see that he left the key in the pocket of the hoodie he wore, facilitating your escape.

After calling a cab, you lock your phone screen and wait seating on the sidewalk. Time has never passed so slowly, the fear of Henry coming after you increases. 

It's not because of everything that happened last night, you felt good talking to him honestly for the first time, even though more than half of the conversation in your head is awkward. Who in their right mind would complain about the tv show that an actor participates, in front of himself?

Despite that, your only concern is that he finds you in this state and you end up taking it out on him. There is no way to prevent it, when you're on your period, your mood swings make your reactions unexpected. The last thing you want is to hurt him with your words or actions, after he was so kind to you.

As soons as you get home, you take a shower, and get ready to sleep again. The time you rested wasn't enough, if it weren't for this unforeseen event, you would've stayed at Henry's house without any problem.

Sleep comes easily, mainly because this is your way out to avoid feeling the pain that were sure to strike, in addition to the headache that continues to be even more resounding.

You close your eyes little by little, and when you least expect, you're asleep again.

This time what wake you up, is the insistent pound on the door. Putting on a robe and zigzagging around the bedroom, you manage to balance yourself, going towards the living room and opening the door instantly.

"Why did you vanished?" Henry is standing in front of the door holding a grocery bag, staring at you with a questioning look.

"I... I didn't, I left you a note." While you think of arguments to explain yourself, he interrupts you.

"Need to go home, thank you for everything. Bye!" He says reading the note that he took out of his pocket, in a sarcastic tone imitating your voice. "Really, Y/N? No explanation whatsoever, what do you expected me to think?" 

"Firstly, I don't talk like that. Secondly, I know you spent the whole night with me, I knew you needed to rest. I didn't want to wake you up and worry you more than necessary." At one point it is true, it wasn't just because of the incident that you left without saying anything. You also didn't want to disturb him anymore than you already did.

"I know why you left. No need to stress, I'm here to help." He goes inside and start to take the ingredients out of the bag, acting naturally.

"Um, what are you talking about?" Perhaps you left some evidence, a stain somewhere? _"God, please, not on his sheets."_ You just thought about throwing the toilet paper into the toilet and flushing it as if nothing had happened. You didn't think about the possibility of having spotted another place.

"Hangover, Y/N. I know how it goes. You're probably not used to it, you seem to have a weak stomach. Poor thing, you must be a wreck." Reassuringly, he spreads the ingredients on the counter, getting acquainted with your kitchen, to find out where is what he needs.

Your symptoms are usually so strong, that for a moment you forgot that the discomofort could also be a little impact from the drinks you had yesterday. You're relieved that he didn't find out, however Henry's presence remains unknown, especially bringing ingredients that you have no idea what he plans to do with.

"I'll make a famous family recipe for you. First time I came home with a hangover, I managed to hide it from my parents, but my older brother could see that I wasn't acting like myself." Excited, Henry tells the story while chopping the vegetables he just washed in the sink. 

"So, Piers helped me cover it up, and made this recipe for me. It won't taste good, but it works, that's all that matters." He talks fondly about his brother, and you realize that what he displays on the interviews is real, his family is truly important. You can see he is attached to the memories he share with them.

"Ew, this is disgusting." Everything was going well, until you saw him putting kale in the smoothie.

"Well, actually this is the most important ingredient. Now, stop complaining and take it all in one gulp, I don’t want to see anything left in this, understood?" Sternly, he finishes the recipe and hands you the glass, filled to the top, almost spilling.

Nodding, in a provocative gesture you pinch your nose and cover it avoiding the smell. Henry just roll his eyes and watch you struggling to take it. He amuses seeing your grimace as soon as you finish the smoothie.

"Your drunk self has quite a personality." He says leaning on the kitchen island, staring at you with a grin.

"Ugh, no. Let's talk about something else. This is so fucking embarrassing." You sit on the stool in front of him, while putting your hands on your face and covering it trying to hide your shame.

"Well... Since you insist." He coughs preparing to touch on a subject he is afraid of but need to address. "Y/N, you know you can tell me anything, right?" He says bringing you closer and rubbing his thumb lightly over your hand.

"Henry, I'm not following it. Where do you want to go with this?" Nothing beyond what you're hiding, goes through your mind, and you don't get why he is acting so strange.

"I can't say nothing more than what I saw, I don't want to be unfair. At the same time, I don’t think that behavior fits what you’ve shown me. You're always so controlled, how did you get to that point?" Henry tries to choose the right words so as not to offend you, after all you're not committed yet. He needs to demonstrate concern without being possessive. 

"Don't you think someone could possibly have got you drunk on purpose? Asher waiting with you and urging you to go over to his penthouse for the night, is very suspicious. What if I hadn’t come to pick you up? Do you think he would respect your wishes?" As soon as he sees your change of expression he knows he overtalked.

"Henry, what you're implying?" Abruptly you pull your hand away. You didn’t want Henry to see your bad side, but this is something you can’t accept. Maybe you're overreacting, but it’s not the first time, that he has this doubts. 

"We have a strictly professional relationship. Asher showed nothing but respect for me ever since I entered his building, I'm very grateful for how he welcomed me. So accept it, I was the one who drank too much. Lower your expectations, I'm far from perfect." It sounded more severe than you intended, but Henry needs to understand that your boss is just your boss, nothing more. He doesn't control you outside your work. You're able to make your own choices, even if they are stupid. 

Before Henry can answer to your storm of words and try to apologize, you yelp unwittingly, and he runs kneeling in front of you.

"Y/N? What's wrong?" You're clutching your lower belly, surrounding it with your arms.

Refusing to answer, you just gesture with your hands suggesting is nothing big. You don't manage to fake for too long, your cramp intensifies and you go into more despair.

"Maybe it's something related to you hitting your head. I knew I shouldn't have obeyed you, we should've gone straight to the hospital." Running his hands through his hair, he starts pacing through your kitchen distressed.

"It's just that time of the month." Your intention was not to tell, but seeing him worried make you feel sorry, he is totally clueless.

"Time of the month? I don...Oh...Got it." For the first time he is the one that flushed, dodging your gaze at all costs.

"Hen, it's not a big deal." You fight a smirk forming on your lips, is hilarious to see a full grown man acting like a teenage boy learning about the female anatomy.

"It's not what it looks like. What can I do to help you relieve whatever you're feeling?" Henry has no problem with this topic, despite growing up in a house full of men, he saw his mother's struggle. His girlfriends not so much, most of them avoided seeing him when they were like this. What makes him insecure is knowing that no matter how hard he tries, there is no way to put himself in your shoes.

"I already took my meds, other than that, there is nothing else left to do." As much as you admire him for trying, it is a lost cause.

"Y/N that sounds terrible!" Henry can't comprehend how you survive a specific date every month designed to your suffering.

"Welcome to my life." You've been going through this for so long that you consider it to be normal. "I could use some distraction." You take him by the arm and walk towards your room where your TV is located. Normally, you would be awkward and worried about him entering your bedroom, but since you slept in his, nothing more fair.

It's not like Henry is a coward. However, if he knew about your situation, maybe he would've stayed at home. He sucks at dealing with this stuff.

"Let's watch something. You pick." Apprehensive, you invite him to enter the bedroom and signal with your hand on the bed indicating that he can feel at ease in the enviroment.

After a long time debating with himself, Henry accepts your invitation and lies down with you, taking the remote and browsing through the catalog.

If he knew that you cared little for what he was going to choose and that you were more interested in his company, maybe he wouldn't have given the matter so much importance.

As soon as you agreed on the chosen movie, Henry stood up and closed all the curtains, making the room as relaxing as possible.

While you squirm in pain he keeps trying to find ways to make himself useful.

"Do you want some water?" It sounds stupid, but water helps in many situations, maybe it would help you too.

"Yes, please!" Faintly, you find inner strength to respond.

Returning from the kitchen with your water bottle, he find you curled up in fetal position.

"That seems unbearable." Stroking his fingers zealously through your hair, he hands you the bottle and lay down beside you.

"It is." You answer before taking a sip of water.

"Can I?" As much as you have grown closer, he is still careful to ask for your permission when he is going to do something more intimate.

You nod slightly, getting back to your previous position.

Snuggling you, he place his huge hands on your belly, making circular movements. The feeling is far from being over, but somehow this soothes you.

Henry is proving in every way that he is here for you, no matter what. Even the most skeptical like you, can notice that there is continuous signs of pure affection.

This is how you spend the rest of your Sunday. Eventually, the medicine starts to kick in, leaving you on a better mood. You enjoy each other's company, and share numerous stories, especially from childhood. 

With each passing day you try to brush off this feeling. You never thought about the possibility of having something more with Henry. He is totally out of your league, you can barely imagine how difficult it must be to date a man as public as him, to have thousands of people around the world taking care of your private life.

Despite all this, you're willing to try. 

You just need to learn and adapt to his lifestyle without damaging your relationship in the process.


End file.
